Hiring external support for your business can feel like an extravagance – especially when you already have an ace team and the good times aren’t exactly rolling in (I’m looking at you ‘mini budget’…)  

But storytelling in business can be an exceptionally useful tool and the thing that sets you apart from others in your field.

Some of the most successful leaders I’ve known have been expert storytellers, and I’d wager there’s a direct correlation between the two.  But although storytelling and leadership often go hand-in-hand, when you have a message you need to share, knowing where to begin can feel daunting.

You wouldn’t be where you are today without being an excellent communicator, but those skills don’t always translate into copy that your target audience will engage with.

Finding the right words isn’t necessarily as easy as it might seem, and inspiration for the perfect piece of content for that article you know would be a good fit for your website doesn’t always strike at a convenient moment. Putting pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard) can easily slip to the bottom of your to-do list when there’s a whole heap of other demands to manage.   

So why not call in an expert: a business copywriter. After all, we wouldn’t hesitate to do so in other areas of our business – IT, for example, or finance and quite honestly language and content are no different. It’s just good business sense to engage someone who has the appropriate skills for the job.

I write for local businesses, small businesses, large businesses and global corporations.  These businesses provide a variety of different products and services, but they work with me because they all understand the value of powerful storytelling in business communication.

More great reasons to hire a copywriter

• A copywriter can help you get stuff done, freeing up a chunk of time for you to work on other business-critical things, which may well be a better use of your time

• Most writers have years of experience and skills that reflect this, so they bring a level of expertise to each job which can take your copy or content to the next level. This is crucial if you want your audience to read and engage with your words

• Persuasive copy is a given, so if you know who your audience is, your copywriter can help you get the results you’re looking for

• Sometimes it’s helpful to have a fresh pair of eyes to bring new ideas to old problems or simply a different perspective to shake things up. Change can be daunting, but it doesn’t have to be – and being confident that your copy will be spot-on can really make a difference

• If you’re starting a new venture, a copywriter can help with tone of voice, the overall consistency of copy and other useful things like proofreading and editing.  Getting these elements in place from the beginning will make a tangible difference in the longer term

• You might want to make a complicated subject easy to understand, or something relatively mundane sound exciting. Whatever it is, a copywriter will be able to bring the subject to life in a way that’s in line with your brand and sits comfortably alongside your other content

• Last but by no means least, a copywriter is handy if you want to get rid of jargon and make sure your content is clear, concise and written in a tone that reflects your brand

This isn’t an exhaustive list, but it does show some of the really useful ways a copywriter can give you the edge you need to stand out from the crowd. It all comes down to engaging and compelling words on a page (or screen).   

You might be tempted to take a do-it-yourself approach, (some of my clients come to me having already tried this), but this could cost you further down the line – in time, money and most importantly, readers.

The perfect fit

We all know perfection is hard to come by, but if you’re hiring a copywriter for the first time, don’t dive in without thinking about not just the type of work you need completing, but the way you like to work as well.

Talk to your prospective writer and try and get a sense of whether or not your working styles are compatible and you have clarity of both their process and business t’s and c’s.

Afterall, it’s no different to any other business relationship where the quality of the output tends to rest on the strength of the working relationship and a clear goal. You’ll want to be on the same page from the outset of  your project, so a clear brief and open channels of communication usually pave the way for success.

Like the sound of this? Get in touch: alice@alicesolaiman.com / 07738 940727